Maybe Out Like a Hyena on Caffeine?

I find this hilarious because "traditionally" this is how March should go. A natural transition from winter (aka fierce lion)  to spring (aka fuzzy wittle wamb). And I guess that's what we are experiencing on this 31st evening of March because have both winter and spring happening. 

And the lamb is more like a laughing hyena on Red Bull. Going out like a party.

Current Midwest status right now: Blizzard warnings (red) and a tornado watch (yellow) separated by about 2 hours of driving. And Wisconsin Rapids is in the middle. Either we'll get the fun of both or one will happily travel north, the other south, and both will leave us alone. Right now it's raining hard with some thunder rumbles. So spring is fighting hard to take over. For now.

Transitioning to something new is not always as easy as the flip of a calendar. 

Today we went to a funeral for our friend Tom's mom, who died after a lengthy illness. I know from losing my dad that even if you're expecting it, it doesn't make it any easier. That final goodbye is still incredibly sad. Now Tom and his twin sister find themselves in their 40s with no parents. They are transitioning into orphan-hood, so to speak. I know from close friends in that same scenario that it is always too soon to happen. They're too young to be in this situation. My heart breaks for them.

At that same time, they are now released from their role as caregivers. I know from personal experience that that simultaneously carries both relief and guilt over that relief. I'm praying they'll find comfort knowing they did the best they could to give their mom care and comfort. And hoping that they'll take some time for themselves now. Guilt-free time. And just cherish the good memories.

Of course, we know from March, that there's no guarantees which way things will go. I'm hoping for a soft lamb who gives gentle hugs.

Be careful out there.

Opening Day

It's opening day of the 2023 MLB season. Take that, Mother Nature! 

After driving home in a mild rain-snow-icy mix, I'm glad the Twins were on the road to Kansas City. No one wants to sit outside in this. And yes, I realize April is 30 hours away, but March seems to early to get started! B-r-r-r. Twins won so that's something.

Meanwhile, we'll wait and see how high school sports get the ball rolling. Pun intended.

Hubby's managing to get some indoor golf swings in so he definitely has more than one spring sport on HIS mind. While he does that tonight, I've so far gotten in one episode of The Crown on Netflix (forgot I wasn't done with Season 5) and one of Up Here on Hulu. Not sure how 18 virtual holes of golf take so I'm going to see if I can squeeze in one more of something!

By the say, Old Man Winter is not relinquishing his hold so we've got more sketchy precipitation coming to take March out like a lion.

Be careful out there!

Look Who's Out of Hibernation

I came home from work today and guess who's out of hibernation? That's right. Mr. Deck Chair is back on the deck. 

I know. It's going to be down to 16 degrees tonight and we're probably getting both rain and snow this weekend. But still. He was tired of waiting.

We all are, dude. We all are.

But I am also of the mindset I could use a little hibernation myself. For some reason, I haven't had a decent night's sleep this week. Was yawning my way through the last Lenten service tonight and even choir practice. Uff da.

Pretty sure I'm going to crash early and take Mr. Deck Chair's place. Wherever he's been hiding for 5 months.

Well, I mean if I can still have my heated mattress pad on and comfy blanket there. I can give up sleep, but not some things!

Oh, Deer

I guess humans aren't the only ones happy that the snow is melting and we can see grass again. Even brown, dead grass! 

When it's dinner time, this foursome near the golf course apparently can't be disturbed. And are completely oblivious to passing traffic. Or a stopped car with a lady taking pictures. 

I can just hear this one looking up: "Guys, aren't we supposed to do something when we see a car? Like jump in front of it or something? Oh, deer!"

Thankfully, none of them listened.

And thankfully, it was another day in the low 40s so more snow melted. But will it be enough?

The season-opening baseball and softball games scheduled for next Monday up at Phillips have understandably been called off already. But, for now, soccer's home opener is still on. I'll have to drive by Washington Field and check the status. Tuesday's home baseball and softball are still a go, too.

Too bad deer aren't into eating snow cones. We could use some help here! (And yes, if you can't tell, I'm anxious to get clicking again 📷 ).

Beach, Please

It's Spring Break in the greater Wisconsin Rapids area this week. It means nothing to my personal schedule anymore. I only know about it because of coach's practice schedule–daily but sparsely populated. 

So while the warm sunny beach photos start rolling from parts way south, I figured I'd share some beach picture so my own.

In my search for eagles yesterday, I made a point of stopping at the Petenwell County Park just in case my favorite feathered friends were hanging at the edge of the ice. Not the case. But I walked the "beach" anyway for a bit. And my weird photographic eye caught a few interesting images...

Lovely day for a lake view. Pretty sure that bench will be vacant for a minute.

Not a boat or angler in sight.

Plenty of beach sand here. Can I Photoshop over the Adams County landscape with something more akin to Cancun? Nah.

Got closer to the "water" and when this little ice shelf appeared, I became a bit obsessed with it. In Alaska when we'd see these, it meant running water from a melting glacier was underneath.

Didn't check the water underneath or even see how far away it was from this rock, for instance. But let's assume it was cold. 

Thanks to crouching in the dirt, I might have tried to convince you this was a big ice shove over a mountain for all you know. The magic of camera angles.

I loved how the shoreline snowbanks were breaking apart in pretty consistent sized and shaped parts. Some days we all fall apart, don't we?

Never saw these empty! Just waiting for spring, well LATE spring, for guests.

Ready for a picnic? I'll meet you there. You might have to wait a bit so bundle up!

Seriously, though, enjoy your beach time if you're really on break this week. I can't complain since I still have touches of my Caribbean tan. Your timing is better, though. I had four month of winter on my return and you only have two!

Beauty and the Bleat

What I discovered today while visiting a friend's hobby farm is that even though I know I'm not pretty, at least I'm not turkey ugly. It was quite a boost to my self-esteem!

Apparently her turkeys like to stand against their fence and harass the chickens all day. I'm siding with the chickens since they produced the two dozen eggs I got. Very nice.

Also, the chickens probably know the turkeys' days are numbered. That's the word around the coop, anyway.

My farm favorites were Gwen's kids. Oh her children, yes, but also the baby goats! I want one! The black one was bleating while I walked away, begging me not to go!

One of her sons has become quite the goat whisperer. He treats them like pets. But I know from another  friend who's had goats as pets that they like to head butt. No matter how much they love you. And they'll leave a bruise. Hope it works out OK!

Anyway, it was nice to see my former Wonder Twin from kickboxing days. And since I was down south in Adams County, I decided to take the scenic route home in hopes of maybe seeing some eagles or something. Apparently the eagles are too smart to fall victim to this fake spring today. But I did see a blue heron or two plus some sandhill cranes...

I snapped some shots at a few other spots that I'll share tomorrow. For now I gotta get a few more "Saturday chores" done before Monday arrives!

Lucky Lady

What a lucky day! My mom was lucky enough to celebrate her 91st birthday. And we were lucky enough to have a safe 8-hour round-trip road trip! There were a lot of deer out there enjoying this mild spring day and evening!

We swung up through Luck – with a stop to buy lottery tickets per usual in my hopefully someday lucky for us hometown – then onto Grantsburg to pick up mom for lunch. You see that even though her sidewalk is clear, there is a lot of snow up there to melt yet! Hopefully today's 40-degree temps helped get that process going.

Had a nice lunch and family gathering time at the Pour House in Siren. Six of us 8 kids were there and the other two spent the day together in Arizona. Also had a few nephews and nieces there...

Including darling little Millie ...

And her brother Linus.

While we were waiting for food to arrive, Mom also heard from 4 different grandkids and some of their kids – all via video calls.

Including my nephew Tim out in South Dakota!

As a bonus, we had two birthday girls to celebrate with. My nephew Zach's wife Liana turned 40 today! I'm sure she doesn't mind me sharing her age since she still looks 25.

After lunch we went back to Mom's for dessert. The trifle is almost as big as her! And yes, it tasted it as good as it looked.

Momma and her baby twinsies.

Feeling pretty blessed to have my mom still around. We heard Dad's song – Why Me, Lord – on the way up and back home so we knew he was reminding us we miss him and hinting at us to not take Mom for granted! 

On the way home, we saw a pretty sunset on the Chippewa River.

And were thrilled that at 7:50 p.m. I could snap this photo and we still had some daylight left. A teeny tiny bit but we'll take it. From then on, it was watching for and seeing plenty of deer. Mostly in the ditches with one brave enough to make that jump in front of us. 

We're home safe and sound with time to catch the end of some March madness. I think our luck has run out there.

Hope you all had something to celebrate – or at least smile about– today!

The Busted Bracket Blues

As of 30 minutes ago, my bracket was busted. As of 30 seconds ago, my south and west brackets are completely shredded. Let's just say my final 2 won't make it to the Elite 8, much less the Final 4. Dang.

Oh well, I didn't know much going into it and I've proved it. I may have covered my investments, however, thanks to some random acts of randomness. If ya know what I mean. Of course, upsets in any stage of the game are what make this whole tournament fun to watch. 

I mean, when I can catch a bit of action between making t-shirts and trifles and such.

Tonight after work I whipped together this trifle for a special girl turning 91 tomorrow who happens to love both purple and pistachio! 

I think my momma will like it. Had to take a picture beforehand in case it doesn't arrive completely intact after a 4-hour drive in the morning! I'm also hoping these layers jive together for a delicious flavor.

If you wish to try this at home... I've got some crumbled up pistachio muffins (Thanks, IGA!!!) on the bottom, then finely cut vanilla wafer frosting cookies, then pistachio pudding, some cool whip, some purple-dyed white chocolate pudding, then repeat. I also found "Mythical Creatures" frosted animal cookies that only come in lavender and white. Perfect. 

So we'll see if it tastes as good as it looks. Like my mother, I like pistachio. And those wafer cookies. And frosted animal cookies. So if it doesn't strike anyone's fancy, I'll be happy to lick the messy bowl of leftovers on our way back home!

As we lick our wounds from our busted brackets. I think the trifle will taste better, don't you?

Good luck to those still in the hunt!

When They Come Over to the Dark Side

It helps to have the waterpark capital of the world less than 50 miles down the road. Sometimes it even lures my family over the border and over to the dark side. Which for them is, well, Packers country. C'mon. You know it had to be said.

So I jumped at the chance to see my SKOL sister RoAnn and her son and his family while they had a brief spring break getaway in Wisconsin Dells. Headed down after work to meet them at Buffalo Phil's for dinner. A pretty cool joint next to the Great Wolf Lodge, where your food and drinks arrive at your booth via a train. And sometimes the train even hauls a bubble machine. In addition to all the fake taxidermy stuffed animals, they have a bunch of Star Wars figures (like Darth above) decorating the place. Just an odd mix but it caters to kids of all ages, I'm guessing. 

Including us, of course.

Naturally, my first order of business was snuggle time with the newest member of our family – my great-niece Khloe.

Seven months old and simply adorable. And tired!

She was out before our food arrived!

Is it too early to ask Santa for grandkids? Just checking.

Big sister Kenlee loved the train delivery method – and especially the bubble machine.

Pretty sure she hasn't taken off the "wolf ears" headband since they checked into the lodge yesterday.

After dinner we went back to their hotel and got to catch up for awhile. 

I realized I hadn't seen them since my aunt's funeral in November. I was way overdue for Minnesota hugs!! Good thing I'll see more family this weekend for my mom's birthday

But for the rest of my MN family: You're free to come to the dark side anytime. I'll protect you!

Three Strikes and You're Undeliverable

We're thankful the refrigerator magnet made it safely – and as scheduled – to North Carolina, because the three other deliveries have been a nightmare. Spoiler alert: The U.S. Postal Service for the win!

First item two weeks ago was just a simple envelope with a cashier's check that absolutely, positively had to get there overnight. In fact I paid $120-plus to be sure it did. And it turned into a nightmare of tracking it down since they claimed in their tracking system that it was "undeliverable."

Then last week, a desk I ordered for Carter to work from home was "attempted delivery" one day and the next day they had to track it down in their apartment complex. That's when they discovered that there's an Amazon mail center. So Amazon packages are delivered there when delivered by an Amazon truck. Not to the actual apartment or even building.

Today was a couch of all things. The app said it was "delivered" by UPS but it was nowhere to be found. Not in the main office. Not in the Amazon mail center, even though it was ordered through Amazon. How does one lose a couch?

Carter called the UPS hotline while walking around and checking out the other 10 apartment buildings in their complex. He found it at one. Definitely wrong building even though it was numbered correctly on the address label.

This has been a nightmare. Glad the USPS got his magnet there. Ha.

I told him if he needs to buy an office chair, he's just going to have to go the Staples and strap it to the roof of his Honda Accord! Pretty much means no more big gifts from Amazon Prime Momma. Next time, I'll just drive it out there myself.

Hey, now. I might be onto something there... 17-hour road trip, anyone?

Reminders of Home

Found this very cool magnet at Milkweed Market and just had to send it to the kids as a housewarming gift our in Carolina. If you haven't shopped there lately, give it a whirl. Some very cool stuff.  Plus, you'll feel good supporting ODC next door and shopping local in general.

As a bonus, you might just brighten someone's day.

I was not paid for this endorsement, ha. Just wanted to share. 

(And not talk about the stinkin' weather or my stinkin' bracket!)

Good night, friends!

Spring? If You Say So, Calendar

Remind me at Christmas time that I need to buy Mother Nature a calendar. And insist she look at it. It would be the best gift for all of us, don't you think?

Happy first day spring. If you're sticking with that story, calendar! According to Mr. Louisville Slugger,  you have a ways to go.

For the record, it did get up to spring-like temperatures in these here parts today.  They just need to hang around for a several flips of the daily calendar!

When I shared this with Carter, though, he pointed out in his long-range forecast that it should be 86 in Raleigh this Friday! I'm about to pack my bags, I swear! My only other option was to pretend it's almost baseball season.

Using my self-taught graphic design skills, I designed a baseball shirt, uploaded it to my Cricut program, cut it out onto Iron-On transfer material and ironed it on with my friend's Cricut heat press. I feel like I made this shirt from start to finish – except for actually sewing it, of course. Kind of jazzed about this!

I might even mass produce these in my free time. So essentially my total inventory shall remain at one. For me.

Working on a few others but ran out of time today since we had a funeral visitation after work and I had to watch The Voice. Based on our windchills in the forecast, though, I'm pretty sure time is on my side.

You're more than welcome to join us, spring!